Meeting Notes 10

It’s been a couple of months since my last Meeting Notes post. And to be honest, there haven’t been a ton of meetings lately, which for me is a good thing. Now, without further ado…

Sometimes I really have no idea what’s going to come out when I start doodling. I tend to like shading things and giving them a bit more of a 3D perspective, but I’ve always had an obsession with drawing eyes. I usually don’t doodle them, but this time I said what the poodoo, why not?

COMING SOON

Thanks to inspiration and a sort of reminder from Mayra, I’m going to work on presenting an editing series to go along with the How to Write a Novel Series and the How to Design a Book Cover series I’ve already featured here on the blog. I’m hoping all of you will add your own editing tips in the process.

I recently finished up another major edit session on SHADE and am going to tackle the query letter next. I have a decent one, but my mentor from Pitch Wars made some new suggestions, so I’m at it again. I think once I’ve got a copy we’re both happy with I might send it over to Janet Reid’s Query Shark blog and see what she has to say. It’s both frightening and thrilling at the same time.

I’m going to commit to writing the editing series for next week. You heard it here first. Look for the editing series next week. This will include advice on how to do it yourself, beta readers, writing groups, and when to seek a professional editor (yep, that’s a when). There’s a lot more resources available than you’d think, many of them free of charge—and they’ll improve your writing.

Anything you’re hoping to see coming out of the editing series? Anything you wish I would doodle while I was making my meeting notes? I’m up for requests or suggestions. Have you ever dared to submit to the Query Shark? Would you? Let me know below.

Thanks! I’ve already been having a bit of fun coming up with quippy (and maybe a little cheesy) names. Looks like there’s going to be 7 of these posts. I think you should try out the query. It’s the hardest part of this whole thing and the sooner you have something to edit and fix the better. Every time I think I’ve got a good one, somehow someone comes along and points out its weaknesses. I continue because I get a stronger one each time I do. Aaaah, editing, so fun…. 😉

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I have written queries before. I wrote my first query when I finished my first story, aged thirteen. I’m just wary about Query Shark and similar because I feel that it doesn’t approach the query in the right direction. You know? The idea doesn’t work for me. Especially as I find I learn better when given good examples as oposed to bad ones.
Queries are always going to be unique, so we can only learn from those who have been published and see which styles fit our own ideas.

Oh, haven’t you seen on Query Shark when she posts the new and improved ones? That’s a lot of the reason I like the site, is you can see what went wrong and how it got better. But query writing is so different from novel writing, I tend to agree with her when she says most authors can’t write a good query to save their life (but that she’s still in awe of how well they write stories). I saw her in person at Backspace though, so I guess that’s why I’m a fan of her site. 🙂

Lol – oh, I’m terrified, but I plan on submitting to Query Shark at some point. The query letter is probably one of my biggest weaknesses, and I keep putting it off. I have no idea how to sell my own work, lol. I’m looking forward to your editing series – that’s what I’m working on for my novel right now. 🙂 Lol, while putting off the dreaded query letter.

There’s a great resource my friend Brian recommended to me, if you ever feel like braving the query waters. You can download a short e-book for free here and it really helps move things along: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/p/query-letters.html If you ever need someone to take a look, let me know. I’m not a pro, but I have been rewriting query letters for some time now. 😉

Thank you Jae, I’ll definitely check the e-book out. I know I’ve got to go for it, even if it isn’t the most fun part of the writing process. 🙂 I’d like to see if I can get represented by an agent, and learning to write a good query letter may save me some time in the slush pile of death, lol. And I’d love any advice you could give me on my query letter, if you really don’t mind? Lol, it’s a bit of a mess. 🙂 I have a lot of trouble summing up what my book is about without rambling, lol.

The downside of using a tablet and keyboard to take notes during work meetings is the inability to doodle. Also, I have to make sure my notes are accurate because I’m responsible for sending them out to everyone. Meetings are less fun when I have to be on good behavior.